Graphic Designer - Parental Leave Fixed Term

GRAPHIC DESIGNER - PARENTAL LEAVE COVER

Christchurch (Hornby)  |  Fixed term (approx. 12 months)  |  Full time

Shape and lead the creative that brings three brands - Westgold, Westpro and Westland - to life across packaging, campaigns and digital. A hands-on role with real ownership, a Junior Graphic Designer to guide, and work that reaches markets around the world.

Why you'll want this role

* Creative ownership from day one – you don't just execute briefs, you shape them: working with stakeholders, scoping the work and advising on the right deliverables

Three brands, global reach – lead design for Westgold, Westpro and Westland across NZ and international markets

Lead and mentor – guide and support aJunior Graphic Designer, sharing your craft and lifting the team's output

Great perks – discounted dairy products and a genuine work-life balance in a close-knit Hornby team

What you'll be doing day to day

Shaping the brief, not just filling it – partnering with stakeholders to create and clarify briefs, reverse-brief where needed, define scope, spot missing information and advise on the right approach

Owning packaging end to end – brief review, stakeholder coordination, approval workflows, final-artwork preparation, version control and packaging governance across the brands

Creating on-brand artwork – campaigns, trade collateral, newsletters, presentations, websites and social content

Leading design process – owning and improving design SOPs, workflows, templates and approval processes

Managing the pipeline – project intake, prioritisation, scheduling and juggling competing deadlines

Brand stewardship & production – liaising with suppliers and printers, advising on production, and supporting wider corporate and Yili Oceania design needs

Guiding the Junior Graphic Designer – reviewing work, sharing standards and helping them grow

What you'll bring

Adobe expertise – highly proficient across Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign

Strong packaging & print-production experience – confident with mandatories, artwork preparation, version control and approvals

Stakeholder management & project-scoping – you draw the real brief out of people and turn ambiguity into a clear plan

A keen eye for design, aesthetics and detail, with the flair to keep three brands fresh and on-brand

3+ years' experience in a related graphic design role, ideally within FMCG

A tertiary qualification in design or a similar discipline

Calm under deadline – organised, methodical, with great time management and a results focus

Nice to have (but not essential)

Premiere/After Effects for basic video edits and subtitles

Experience mentoring or guiding a junior designer

Exposure to brand marketing, external agencies, and digital/social media design

* Figma, Mailchimp and Canva

A bit about us

Westland Milk Products is a proud, end-to-end New Zealand dairy manufacturer with a heritage stretching back over 80 years. From our Hornby (Christchurch) offices and our Hokitika site, our people turn West Coast milk into premium products enjoyed the world over. We're owned by the global top-5 dairy company, Yili Group - together with Oceania Dairy, Pure Nutrition, Canary Foods and EasiYo, we form the Yili Oceania group, exporting to more than 40 countries.

Where to from here? We'd love to hear from you, even if you don't tick every single box - the best people rarely do. If this sounds like your kind of challenge, back yourself and apply.

Apply through our careers page at westlandcareers.co.nz. Applications will be reviewed as they're received, and we may close the role early if we find the right person - so apply early. Applicants must have valid work rights in New Zealand.